Home | Information Services for social and 
economic development (Summary)
Full Text: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4

Staff skills and training
The work of a high quality information service is complex and demands considerable expertise on the part of those running it and those providing the service directly to users. This expertise requires a combination of experience and aptitude. In some countries, training is commercially available on some aspects of the work (see Aslib and TFPL). The library must expect to spend a certain amount of time on in-house training, especially relating to the use of IT. Skills and knowledge required include:

• understanding of how government, local government, business, organisations, etc.;
• extensive knowledge of sources of information, including familiarity with specialised information such as legal, financial and technical information;
• the ability to evaluate information, i.e. to assess its usefulness for purpose, its currency, its provenance etc.;
• technical skills to compile databases, construct web sites, etc.;
• knowledge of copyright and intellectual property law;

The expertise which these staff build up during the course of their work is a valuable resource for the library service as a whole. These staff often take the lead in developing services in general in their library system, introducing new services and training other staff. They should also be able to train users, either in the library or at workplaces etc., and market the service to target audiences.

Co-operation and partnerships (see also co-operation)
Libraries are used to co-operating with each other, and technology now makes this even more useful. Examples of such co-operation include:

• interlending and referral services, including sources for specialised materials such standards, patents and technical journal articles;
• joint catalogues, or systems which can access several catalogues simultaneously;
• co-operative enquiry services such as the Ask-a-Librarian schemes now established in many countries, and global services such as Library of Congress QuestionPoint service (see links);
• college and university libraries - see for example the Library Access Sunderland Scheme LASH) in links;
• other organisations with which libraries might co-operate to their mutual benefit include:
• museums and archives locally and regionally. In the UK, Resource: Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries has been established to lead as the strategic body tapping the potential for collaboration between these;
• organisations which provide advice, training and assistance, for example small business advice services, citizens' advice bureaux, health helplines.

Public libraries also need to consider the scope for co-operation in providing community information e.g. through co-ordinating data collection from voluntary and community organizations, or providing links to their websites. The kinds of organisation involved may for example include:

• social services departments
• health services
• colleges and universities
• citizens' advisory bodies
• ethnic minority organisations
• private sector organisations such as IT and local media companies
• grant-making organizations.

Co-operation with such organizations can be even more practical. For example, space can be made available for their staff to be in the library at advertised times to meet the public, answer questions, give advice, hold interviews etc. This opportunity is often welcomed by, for example, careers offices and colleges.

Publicity, marketing and outreach
The public may not immediately think of the library as a source of specialised and commercially-valuable information and it may be necessary to publicise the services and resources offered and to sustain this effort over time. The library may need to be particularly pro-active in this regard, involving:

• mail shots by the library to likely users of the service;
• the preparation of leaflets;
• details on the library website;
• publishing lists of holdings;
• visits to local companies, schools, colleges, community groups etc. to make sure they are aware of the service;
• a newsletter;
• speaking to groups of local people and to organisations e.g. local chambers of commerce.

The library can help to publicise the advantages of its catchment area as a pleasant and vibrant place to live, a suitable site for business location, or an interesting place to visit. The advantages of an area which make it suitable for moving into and for business location include good schools, housing, and leisure and cultural facilities, all the sort of local information which can be provided on community information sites. For examples of such material on websites see Essex , NYPL, Stoke, seamlessUK.

Outreach activities for highly skilled staff could include training away from the library building, e.g. on business premises, in colleges, in community centres in rural areas, etc. Offering this type of service will raise the library's profile among users of all types.

Charging and licences (see also funding)
Where high level information services are offered, consideration may need to be given to one-off charges or an annual subscription for some added-value services, e.g. searching for tenders, where the library has had to pay database fees and needs to recover the cost. Requiring companies or individual users to pay an annual subscription for 'value-added' services requires a decision on what to include in the basic level of service.

Because of the expense involved in compiling specialised information databases, there are often rules, usually contained in a licence, which govern its use in public libraries and which go beyond the normal protection granted by the copyright laws. The library will need to decide what conditions of use will be acceptable to its users and compatible with its work practices.

FUTURE AGENDA

• Information will increasingly be available in digital format.
• Information services will be available round the clock, increasingly provided by networks of libraries which can call on the skills and resources of libraries, museums and archives around the globe and from the academic, special and research sector as well as the public sector.
• People will require information to be tailored to their requirements.
• Public libraries may have an opportunity to integrate and provide access to more information via their websites as a result of European initiatives on access to public sector information.
• Library staff will develop their role - as well as the ability to find, evaluate and organise information they will require high level technical skills and the ability to train others.
• People's needs for information will grow in order to fulfil their roles as citizens in the modern world (see e-government).
• Tourism features largely in economic development. Promotion of, and production of, cultural information, which involves museums and archives, will increase in importance.
• Services will be provided using a variety of delivery channels including broadband, wireless networks, mobile phones, kiosks, and digital television.
• Increasingly libraries will receive and answer enquiries by multimedia systems e.g. e-mail, chatroom-type live conversation, video-conferencing, and call centres may become more common for dealing with telephone enquiries. Remote access via mobile telephones, laptop PCs, etc. will become the norm, as people on the move require information.
• Public libraries may have an opportunity to integrate and provide access to more low cost information on their websites as a result of European initiatives on access to public sector information. (See http://www.cordis.lu/en/home.html.)
• The use of sophisticated authentication systems, such as members' smartcards may permit access to more expensive databases via the library website. (see the guideline on Personalisation)
• Co-operation between libraries will become easier in the future by means of live- interaction software. Users' questions can be relayed to other more specialised libraries while they are still on-line. Working in partnerships and forming consortia will also enable libraries to be more cost-effective, for example by joint purchase of subscriptions.
• People no longer work only from 9 am to 5 pm, and somewhere in the world someone is always awake. Online access will enable information services to be used at any time and from anywhere.
• Library staff may develop their instructional role both within the library and outside.

LINKS

Europe
OpenHeritage
A research project funded under the Fifth Framework Programme (Jan 2001 - Dec 2002) aiming to create an IT infrastructure and service to improve access to collections information held by regional museums and galleries. The collections of regionally distributed smaller museums will thus be as attractive and accessible as the larger, better known, museum collections. This "cultural driven" economy could give a significant contribution to the local economic development enabling the enrichment of local touristic and cultural assets.
http://www.openheritage.com/

REGNET
Linked to Open Heritage, this aims to set up a functional network of cultural centres throughout Europe which will provide IT services to cultural and heritage organisations. This is significant in strengthening regional co-operation.
http://www.regnet.org/

TRIS Cultural Heritage Trial Project
These projects stimulate the implementation of innovative products and services in the cultural heritage sector.
http://www.trisweb.org/tris/trisportalpro/home/default.asp

Czech Republic
Státní technická knihovna
The State Technical Library provides access to business and technical information and digital services. http://www.stk.cz/skolici_stredisko.html

Denmark
Aarhus Municipal Libraries
have developed a service that includes an Ask-a-question service and many links to relevant information providers. http://www.aakb.bib.dk/e-i/
Another answering service run by Aarhus Municipal Libraries is connected to a business ePort for smaller and medium-sized businesses in the Aarhus region. Here the SME businesses can pose business-related questions via forms. http://www.eport.dk/eport/ekspert/index.htm

AuthorNet
A service presenting contemporary authors of Danish fiction to the public. The idea and development was in Aarhus. Now 47 public libraries collaborate on this service. More than 400 authors are presented with CV, bibliography, e-mail address, excerpt from a work, sometimes a reading in a sound file format, etc. This service is currently being developed into the first Danish Literature Portal uniting several initiatives from literary institutions and libraries (also the Bookweb) under the auspices of Aarhus Public Libraries.
http://www.forfatternet.dk/

Biblioteksvagten
'Ask a librarian-service' is a traditional reference service, where you can ask a question and have the answer as an e-mail at least within 24 hours. There is also a chat-facility where you discuss your questions with a librarian. The service is based on a networking co-operation between 18 larger Danish public libraries. The service is so far free of charge.
http://www.biblioteksvagten.dk/

BiziGate
A subject Internet portal containing quality assessed links on topics such as business economics, strategy and management, organisations and HRM, statistics, business language, business law, companies and finance; a joint project of 4 Danish research libraries: Copenhagen Business School, Aarhus Business School, Statistics Denmark, and University Library of Southern Denmark. http://www.bizigate.dk

Home | Information Services for social and 
economic development (Summary)
Full Text: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4